Life sciences visionary J. Craig Venter at UCSD, Oct. 28

In recent years, San Diego has emerged as a world leader in the rapidly expanding field of life sciences, creating an employment sector that’s transformed the local economy and continues to create thousands of high-paying jobs.

According to the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, the life sciences cluster in San Diego ranks as a “major driver of the innovation economy” with more than 600 related companies and more than 80 research institutes.

In addition, the sector boasts more than 42,000 employees, with job growth through this year forecasted to be 3 percent. Life sciences pays the highest-average sector wages in the county, at $107,000 in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, for example.

One of the most widely acclaimed leaders of the life sciences movement, J. Craig Venter, will be in conversation on Monday, Oct. 28, at UC San Diego’s Price Center East Ballroom, at 7 p.m. The event marks the release of Venter’s latest book, “Life at the Speed of Light: From the Double Helix to the Dawn of Digital Life,” in which he examines the creation of life within synthetic genomics.

Free and open to the public, the presentation offers a rare opportunity to learn more about the latest industry trends from Venter himself. For job seekers and those looking for their next career step, it holds the added promise of networking with those in the industry.

Event moderator Roger Bingham, a renowned neurobiologist in his own right, will interview Venter for 50 minutes, followed by a 15-20 minute Q&A session.

Arguably the best-known graduate of UC San Diego, Venter has been variously described as an entrepreneur, visionary, geneticist, synthetic biologist, iconoclast and irascible genius.

Venter, who turns 67 this month, took a circuitous route to his chosen field. His life-changing scientific pursuit turned his own perspective from hopeless to providing hope and discovery into unlocking the genetic riddles of life itself.

Shortly after moving to San Diego, he was drafted into the Navy and soon found himself alongside wounded and dying soldiers in Vietnam. From that experience, it dawned on him that science and medicine were his calling. He eventually wound up fulfilling his destiny as one of the world’s most renowned bio-geneticists, led by his unraveling of genome sequencing and creation of “synthetic life.”

In science-speak, this startling discovery holds the promise of having a profound impact on the very questions of human existence.

Henry DeVries, assistant dean for external affairs at UC San Diego Extension, is co-author of the book “Closing America’s Job Gap” and provides career tips on www.uctv.tv/careers. He can be contacted at hdevries@ucsd.edu or followed on Twitter @goodjobs_forall.